The General Assembly is likely to debate how police officers are disciplined – a debate that may echo parts of the national conversation that triggered by protests in Ferguson, MO and Staten Island, New York of police officers allegedly using excessive force against suspects.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake and several delegates representing the city are calling for changes in the 40-year-old state law known as the ‘Police Officers Bill of Rights,’ which sets out the disciplinary procedures of police departments in Maryland.
Interest in revising parts of the law followed the Baltimore Sun’s expose last fall titled “Undue Force,” which examined lawsuits against the Baltimore City since 2011 alleging police misconduct -- and found that the city has paid $5.7 million dollars in 102 court judgments or settlements.
The investigative reporter behind that expose, Mark Puente, joins host Sheilah Kast to discuss it, and legislative changes that may grow out of it.
